Sports briefs: Aug. 29

Tony Stewart joked Tuesday that his two-handed toss of his helmet at Matt Kenseth was "not bad for a 41-year-old who doesn't work out." Aside from that, Stewart said he's not expecting any drama between the two drivers despite promising to run over Kenseth every chance he gets this season.

"You get over that stuff. It's been part of racing for as long as I can remember and that won't be the last time you see two drivers have a disagreement," Stewart said, adding he'll only run over Kenseth "if I need to. It's not our intention to go seek him out.

"We've gotten along more races than we've disagreed."

The three-time NASCAR champion lost his infamous temper Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway after contact with Kenseth caused him to wreck as they were racing for the lead. Before making his mandatory trip to the care center, Stewart waited on the track for Kenseth to pass by on pit road, and he heaved his helmet directly at the front grill of Kenseth's car.

He was able to joke about the helmet throw during an event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He noted the throw was unorthodox but said using two hands gave him more velocity, and he may take some of his father's old helmets into his yard to practice his technique.

"It may happen again — I've got a lot of helmets and a lot of races," said Stewart, who was pleased NASCAR has not fined him. "I figured I was going to get some kind of penalty for it, so it's nice to know that's something you can get away with. I just wish we could get a more lengthy list of what we can do and can't do. I think we could make it a lot more entertaining if we knew what we could do."

Kenseth said he doesn't plan to watch his back, but he did say during tire testing at Kansas Speedway on Tuesday that he'll talk to Stewart the next time they see each other.

"Tony and I have raced together for a really long time," Kenseth said. "You're going to have problems here and there. Most of the time it's not one person's fault. We're going to move on."

■ Joe Gibbs Racing plans to announce next Tuesday that Kenseth will drive for the team next season, ESPN reported. Sources told the network the 2003 Sprint Cup champion will take over the No. 20 car currently driven by Joey Logano with Home Depot as his primary sponsor.

College football

Murray State ready for challenge, payday

Murray State Coach Chris Hatcher doesn't leave any doubt about why he's willing for his lower-division Racers to take on No. 7 Florida State on Saturday. Money. The Football Championship Subdivision school visits a Florida State team that some, including Hatcher, say could challenge for the national title this season.

"We make no bones about it, it's all about the money," Hatcher said. "There is no number two there, it's all about the paycheck."

Florida State guaranteed the visitors $450,000 in exchange for what the Seminoles and their fans fully expect will be a win.

"As much as I dislike playing teams that are outside our division, I understand it has to be done for financial reasons," Hatcher said. "We're going against a bigger, faster, stronger football team."

Hatcher, whose dad went to Florida State in the mid-1960s, is familiar with Tallahassee from his playing and coaching days at nearly Valdosta (Ga.) State and anxious to expose his players to the big-time atmosphere. He said there is no pressure on his team going into the Seminoles' den.

"This is an awesome opportunity to go do something great," he said. "We'll keep it simple and try to execute the best we can and let the chips fall where they may. ... They'll be the best team we'll play all year long. So long as that paycheck don't bounce."

NFL

Falcons cut Redman, bring in McCown

The Atlanta Falcons have a new backup for Matt Ryan. Chris Redman, the former University of Louisville star who spent the last four seasons as Atlanta's No. 2 quarterback, was released Tuesday so the team could sign Luke McCown. McCown spent the past three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, making two starts among his eight appearances. He worked with Dirk Koetter, who is now the Falcons' offensive coordinator, which undoubtedly contributed to the decision to bring in someone new to back up Ryan.

Redman spent five seasons with the Falcons, the last four as Ryan's little-used reserve. Redman struggled in the pre-season, completing just 53 percent of his passes with one interception.

■ Bengals center Kyle Cook could be lost for the season because of a foot and ankle injury. Cook hurt his right foot and ankle when a defender fell on it during a pre-season game on Thursday night. Cincinnati has already lost left guard Travelle Wharton for the season with a knee injury suffered in the pre-season opener.

■ With less than two weeks before the start of the regular season, Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Wallace reported to the Pittsburgh Steelers. A restricted free agent, he had yet to sign his one-year contract tender worth about $2.7 million. He will not practice with his teammates until next week.

■ Falcons defensive end Corey Peters, a former University of Kentucky standout who will miss at least the first six games of the season, suffered a stress fracture in his foot while working out this off-season, Falcons Coach Mike Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. The team hadn't previously disclosed the cause of Peters' injury.

Basketball

Randle tops new Rivals.com rankings

Who's No. 1 in 2013? Who knows. With Tuesday's unveiling of the new Rivals Top 150, the answer to that question is even more clouded. University of Kentucky recruit Julius Randle leapfrogged Jabari Parker to take the No. 1 spot in the new Rivals rankings. Randle also tops the 24/7 Sports and Future 150 lists.

But Parker, who missed much of the summer basketball circuit with a nagging injury, is still No. 1 in the Scout.com, ESPN and CBS Sports rankings. Another UK target, Andrew Harrison, is No. 1 according to MaxPreps and NBE Basketball Report.

■ The Atlanta Dream suspended WNBA scoring leader Angel McCoughtry indefinitely for violating team rules. It was unclear if McCoughtry's feuding with former coach-GM Marynell Meadors, who was fired on Monday, played a role in the decision. McCoughtry, a former University of Louisville standout who averages 22.2 points, was openly critical of Meadors' game plan following a loss to Minnesota on Sunday. McCoughtry, the No. 1 overall draft pick of 2009, is also the WNBA's leader in steals, averaging 2.9 per game.

New coach and general manager Fred Williams wouldn't say for sure that McCoughtry will return to the team. "I have to thoroughly and strongly talk to her," Williams said. "We'll see where that lies (Wednesday) when I talk with her."

Minor-league baseball

Legends end 11-game losing streak

Chan Moon's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning gave the Lexington Legends a 10-9 lead and left fielder Ruben Sosa finished off a victory Tuesday by throwing out the Hickory Crawdads' Luis Sardinas, who was trying to score from second base on a two-out single.

The Legends, who had 13 hits and benefited from four errors by the Crawdads, ended an 11-game losing streak.

Moon finished with two hits and four RBI. Justin Gominsky and Teoscar Hernandez added three hits apiece.

The last word

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart said he wasn't proud of his helmet-throwing behavior at Bristol this past weekend:

"I don't enjoy getting mad like that. It doesn't make my day. I wasn't happy when I did it. I wasn't happy when it was over. I wasn't happy when I got home."

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